With a little more than a handful of games left to play in the 2012/13 Premier League season, does Liverpool have any chance of finishing higher than Everton in the table?

Some Kopites may scoff at the question as being unimportant, especially considering their ‘storied’ reputation in England. It’s an understandable position to take as it’s been yet another frustrating season for The Reds. But despite the perceived apathy the fact is, Liverpool supporters should care whether they finish above Everton or not. Any Kopite who tells you that he/she doesn’t care is either a) not a huge backer of the club, or b) chewing on sour grapes because last year – for the first time since the 2004-05 season – the Toffees finished ahead of Liverpool in the table.

So can Liverpool finish higher than Everton when the 2012/13 season comes to a close? Let’s check out the pertinents.

For Everton, they’re currently 6th in the table on 55 points, five points ahead of Liverpool with six matches remaining. The Toffees start away at 3rd place Arsenal this Tuesday before traveling up to relegation-threatened Sunderland next Saturday. Everton then welcome Fulham on April 27th before battling 7th place Liverpool in the derby one week later. David Moyes’ squad thereafter hosts 12th place West Ham on May 12th before ending their season one week later at 4th place Chelsea.

Objectively, that’s a very challenging schedule. Arsenal and Sunderland will both be difficult matches but Everton should take at least two points away from those fixtures. Fulham and West Ham pose easier match-ups where the Toffees should little trouble taking all six points. Chelsea and Liverpool will both be hard fought contests but the Toffees should expect at least two points from those fixtures. Therefore, conservative views have Everton collecting at least 10 points in their final six matches.

Liverpool’s remaining schedule is also challenging, although slightly easier than the Toffees. The biggest issue for The Reds, however, is that they need to make up five points and have only have five games to do so. They begin next Sunday with a home match against Chelsea before heading up to 13th place Newcastle on April 27th. After the Merseyside Derby on May 5th, Brendan Rodgers’ side heads to Craven Cottage one week later before finishing the season at Anfield against QPR.

With Fulham comfortably on 40 points at 10th place and QPR wearing the relegation look-of-dread, six points should be in the bag. The clashes with Chelsea and Everton will be difficult but Liverpool should escape with anywhere from two to six points in those clashes. Newcastle will be a test but it will be one that the Reds should be up to. Thus, over the course of the next five games aggressive views have The Reds grabbing anywhere from 11 to 15 points.

So can Liverpool finish higher? At this point that appears to be highly unlikely. In fact, for Steven Gerrard & Co. to have a shot at drawing even with Everton they will have to be flawless in their final five games. Anything less than five victories will likely condemn The Reds to a second straight season of finishing behind their Blue brothers.